Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani today said his government will withdraw a proposal seeking permission from the Centre to allow hunting of nilgai (blue bull) and wild pigs by declaring them as 'vermin'.

Rupani made the announcement after analysing various aspects pertaining to this issue during a recently held meeting of state board for wildlife, an official release said.

As per the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, there is a ban on the hunting of nilgai and wild pig, as they are protected under schedule 3 of the Act.

However, as these animals, found in abundance all across districts and found to be responsible for destroying crops, the state government had sent a proposal to the Centre and demanded that these animals should be declared as 'vermin' by putting them under schedule 5, said the release.

As per the Act, schedule 5 animals can be hunted with due permission from the authorities. At present, rat, mice and common crow are listed as schedule 5 animals.

Now, instead of seeking permission to hunt these animals, the state government has come up with an alternative way to deal with the problem, as hunting of animals could hurt people's sentiments, it said.

As per the release, the state government have alloted Rs 200 crore to put up fence, having a cumulative length of 97.5 lakh running meters, around affected farmlands across the state.

By protecting the farms through fence, there will be no need to hunt these wild animals, said the release.

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